Greetings, fellow AWS enthusiasts! In this blog post, I will share with you how I aced the AWS Solution Architect Associate exam. Passing the AWS Solution Architect Associate exam is not easy, but it is possible. I will share with you my study strategy and tactics that helped me pass the exam. I hope that this will help you get ready for the exam and provide you with some insights on how to handle it.
Study Strategy
The AWS services can be overwhelming. You will need dedication and effort to grasp the overall services. I usually prefer video lectures and thus I did a little research to get the best courses. I came up with these two courses:
- Ultimate AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate SAA-C03 by Stephane Maarek. Stephane is one of the leading instructors with great explanations and exam scenarios.
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Training SAA-C03 by Neal Davis. Neal is great at explaining some concepts with animations.
I focused on one course and would switch to the other if I felt I did not understand the concept and got confused. The strategy I focused on was to watch all the videos once at least and then review to fine-tune on the areas/concepts I thought I was struggling.
Note Taking
Here comes the best part, watching all the video materials can be boring and it is crucial to have a good note-taking strategy. I used Notion, as it gives me a chance to put text, images, and any other supporting materials. What I love about notion is that it gives me a chance to create separate pages for each chapter. Before I start the next section, I was able to review the previous section quickly. Here is the layout of my notes:
Practicing Exam Questions
Once I got the overall idea of the services and how they can be used in combination with others, I started practicing the exam questions. There are many great exam preparation materials. To mention some I came across:
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Practice Exams SAA-C03 2023 by Jon-Bonso.
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate Exam from whizlabs.
- Practice Exams | AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate by Stephane Maarek & Abhishek Singh.
Practicing the exam questions helps me clarify the concepts. It is CRUCIAL to make sure that you cover all the concepts and try to pass most of the practice exams before sitting on the actual exam. I find it a bit overwhelming to come back to the courses, review the areas I was missing questions, and practice again.
Actual Exam
From the practice exams to the actual exam, I find it fairly similar. My actual exam had many scenario-based questions and sometimes reading the ‘long’ text can make it a bit difficult as it was an exam and I was concerned about time. Be mindful of the details given before selecting your answer. After all, the best part was passing the exam, which was really rewarding considering the amount of time and effort I took to pass it.
My final key advice:
- It is a long process, and you need to put in some dedicated effort on a weekly basis.
- Don’t underestimate the exam; sit on it only when you’re ready (pass at least >75% on practice tests).
- Have a good note-taking system; it really helps during revision and practice tests.
- Focus on scenarios and how services work together.
- Understand specific PATTERNS; once you start practicing exams, you will notice patterns.
- After all, it is an exam; try to work on actual experience, build some basic personal projects to see how services actually work.
Stay tuned for my next blog post, where I will showcase my own AWS-based projects.